Bed of Nails
by soraxtsuna123
Summary: Something happened to Darry at work, leaving Soda and Ponyboy confused. Whatever it was had to be big. Why else would he have snapped at the gang over nothing? One-Shot. Request by Deximon.


**Request by Deximon.**

**I'm sorry that this took so long to do!**

**Summary: Something happened to Darry at work, leaving Soda and Ponyboy confused. Whatever it was had to be big. Why else would he have snapped at the gang over nothing?**

**o-o-o**

The summer heat was intense. The sun was beating hard on the roofing crew, causing their tongues to feel like sandpaper and their throats to feel like the Sahara Desert. Darry stood up, stretching his aching back while wiping the sweat off of his forehead. His vision swayed. The heat was getting to him. He wanted to take a short water break, but he ran out of water a while ago and there was no shade to cool him off.

It was another average workday for Darry. He was on complete autopilot, not completely paying his full attention to what he was doing. Unfortunately, him not paying attention made him more susceptible to accidents.

After his short breather, Darry hoisted another heavy bag over his shoulder. However, his stance wasn't wide enough. As soon as he swung the bag onto his shoulder, the momentum plus the slanted surface of the roof, caused him to tip backward. His eyes widened as he felt his heart stop for a moment. Instinctively, Darry let go of the bag in order to catch himself. His knees crashed onto the roof, fingers digging into it, stopping him from falling. The bag, however, continued to plummet down the roof, smashing straight into the windshield of their client's car. The sound of glass shattering into a million pieces was a sound that Darry would remember for a very long time.

Darry's heart dropped when he heard his boss scream, "Darrel Curtis!" The anger that was in the shrill caused a shiver to run down the greaser's spine. Even though it was so hot, Darry felt cold at that moment.

He climbed down the ladder, tentatively approaching his boss, knowing that he was in a lot of trouble. "Yes, Boss?" he asked, feeling cold sweat travel down his back.

His boss's face was red with anger. "I'm sorry, but_ 'yes, boss'_? Are you _seriously_ trying to act normal about this? Do you not _see_ what you had done? You smashed the client's _car window_!"

"I'm sorry, sir, it was an accident. I got dizzy and must have—"

But his boss was having none of that. "Don't make excuses. Excuses won't fix the issue. You did that because you were careless! I cannot have careless people on my team, Curtis."

Darry's breath got caught in his throat, dread washing over him. Was his boss going to fire him? He couldn't be fired. He needed this job. "You're not suggesting…"

"That I'm going to fire you? I should, shouldn't I? But I have to say, you're a good worker. One of the best here, in fact. But that doesn't change what the client is going to think. You need to be more careful. If you do it again, then, I will have to let you go. You, as an employee, are our face. You determine how people see our business. Making mistakes causes people to think that we aren't a good business and thus won't become our clients. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Darry nodded. "I'm sorry for making the mistake. It will never happen again."

"It better not."

"My car!" a voice suddenly screamed. An older male, whom Darry instantly recognized to be their client, scurried out of his house, storming up to the two. His hands were shaking in rage, face turning red. "Look at my car! What the hell happened?! What did you do?!"

Darry's boss stepped forward, trying his best to keep a calm, soothing voice. "I'm sorry, sir, this was a careless mistake that we had made. We will take care of this issue to the best of our abilities."

"I sure expect that you do. How could you make such a mistake?" The client looked around at all of the faces there. "Now tell me. Who did this?"

"I did," Darry answered, stepping up. He had to face his mistakes.

The client spun towards him and moved close enough for them to practically be nose to nose with each other. Even though he was facing Darry, the client spoke to the boss. "I want you to deal with him."

"I will take care of it."

"Take care of it?" They scoffed. "You better. I expect a new car from you." The last sentence was directed towards Darry who only felt his blood run cold again. He couldn't buy a new car for the client. He just didn't have the money to buy a car, let alone a fancy one. He had to pay bills and take care of his brothers. There was no way. It would take him years of hard work to pay a car off.

"A full car? Only the window is broken." Darry pointed out but this only made the customer even angrier.

The client's fists clenched tighter. "_Excuse me_? Look at my car! It's totally ruined because of you!"

"But—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his boss stepped in again. "Sir, we will pay for all the damages made."

"No, I don't want the company to pay for the car. I want the worker who broke it to do so. If he doesn't do it himself, then I will ensure that this business fails."

Darry couldn't believe what was happening to him. There was no way. This had to be some sort of nightmare. But he knew that it wasn't. This was reality. But maybe his boss would sort this out for him. However, the longer that he stood there, the more that he realized that he wasn't going to do anything. His boss was sweating, looking unsure. He shifted his eyes apologetically at Darry who knew then and there that his fate was sealed.

"I'm sorry, Curtis. You need to do as the client says or I'm afraid that I'm going to have to let you go."

**o-o-o**

Darry didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't have enough money to pay for the expenses of the car. Even with the combination of his and Soda's jobs put together, he wouldn't be able to pay for it and to also live sustainably.

His hands clutched the steering wheel, turning white with how tightly he was holding onto it. He just wanted to go home and calm down some.

When he arrived home, a migraine instantly formed. He could already tell that the entire gang was there. Usually, he loved it when they were all over. However, Darry just didn't have the energy or tolerance to deal with them. He just wanted to be left alone to wallow in his own shame and pity.

With a low grumble, Darry entered the house. The screen door shuttered behind him, grabbing attention from a few members of the gang that were nearby.

"Hey, Darry, how was work?" Soda chirped happily. He was _too_ happy. Darry clenched his teeth in irritation. How could Soda be so chipper while he was dealing with so much? Should Darry have compared his situation with how Soda was feeling? No. But, he just wanted to be angry at someone and Soda was conveniently there. He knew that he was going to regret thinking this way later, but, right then and there, he just wanted to focus on the present.

He ran his fingers through his hair, mumbling, "It was okay."

He tried to push through the house to go to his bedroom. But, of course, someone had to stop and talk to him before he could do that.

"Hey, we need more chocolate cake," Steve mentioned, poking his head out from the kitchen. And something about what he said irked Darry.

Chocolate cake? He was dealing with money issues and they wanted him to bake a cake? It was always like this. Do this. Do that. Sure, he usually whipped up a cake for them and enjoyed doing it for the most part, but he didn't even know if he had enough money to buy the ingredients now. They were all demanding him to continue spending but he just couldn't do it anymore. Why does it always have to be him? Couldn't they see that he was distressed?

Darry ground his teeth, eyes icier than Antarctica. He needed to calm down before he did anything terrible. "You want cake? Then why don't you make it yourself?!" he snapped, shocking the gang at the sudden tone.

"Geez, Darry. I was just asking."

"If you really want it so bad, then wipe that cake off of your teeth and eat that."

"Oh, he got you there," Two-Bit teased, trying to lift the atmosphere.

Darry huffed, stomping over to his bedroom again. He thought he was home free, but before he could do that, he was stopped once again.

"Is there something wrong?" Ponyboy asked, worried about his brother. He had never seen Darry this rash towards anyone in the gang before. He teased them and was sometimes stern with them, but that was about it. The only person that he acted that way was to him, so it was weird to see Darry be like that to another person.

Agitation was bubbling up within Darry. It felt like he was about to explode. He tugged at his hair and, without meaning to, he snapped.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" Darry snapped. "All of you have no idea what I do for you and you're treating me like this? Just let me be. I can't handle this!" He finally reached his room and slammed his door shut behind him. The tremors of the door shutting caused the whole house to violently shake, leaving on dead silence afterward.

"What has his panties in a twist?" Two-Bit asked, breaking the silence, but nobody was able to answer him. They were as lost as he was. Soda and Ponyboy exchanged worried looks. Something major definitely happened to him.

Soda stepped forward to go talk to Darry, but a hand clamped on his shoulder. It was Steve. He shook his head. "I've never seen him like that. Maybe you should let him cool off some," Steve told him. Soda looked unsure but nodded nonetheless.

The gang all went back to what they were doing previously. However, the atmosphere was tense, and nobody spoke much if at all. Soda and Ponyboy could hardly tare their eyes away from Darry's shut door for the rest of the day.

**o-o-o**

Darry wasn't the same after that night. He was always stressed and too busy with his life to even spend a minute with the gang. Everybody tried to talk to him about the incident, but Darry would always revert back to being agitated like he was the first time. When he wasn't working, he was looking through the bills; practically pulling out all of his hair. But he didn't do that for too long each day. Darry was always out doing something secret for the majority of his free time. He would never tell them, no matter how many times they asked. Secretly, he started to juggle another job, but they didn't know that.

Dark bags hung under his eyes and his appearance started to look disheveled like he was too exhausted to put effort in it anymore. It was like his soul was sucked out of his body.

It was really bugging his two brothers because of how different he was. It made them worry. What had happened to him?

The question carried itself with Soda to work. He hummed, a frown adorning his face.

There had to be a reason why he was like that. Was there a money problem? Lately, Darry was looking at the bills and receipts more, and he even started to purchase less food and ingredients. Sure, they always had money issues, but it never bothered them too much before. It had to be something else.

As he was thinking, he didn't notice a woman walk up to the register. She placed her items down and waited for him to ring her up. She tapped her feet impatiently.

What could be bothering Darry so much?

"Hello?" a distant, feminine voice asked. He didn't reply.

He wondered what Darry was doing right now. He didn't have work that day.

"Hello?" the voice came again.

What could he do to make Darry happy again?

"Hello!"

Soda jolted out of his thoughts. His eyes snapped towards the girl who was glaring at him. "Yes?" he asked. It was the only thing that he could think of to say in the situation.

"I was trying to get your attention for minutes now!" she complained. "I'm now going to be late because of you. Thanks for nothing."

"Oh, sorry!" He put up a smile, but it was obviously forced.

The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. "No wonder why you're in this job. You can't even pay attention."

Soda awkwardly laughed, scratching his temple. He started to price the items. However, while he was doing so, he accidentally knocked a soda bottle over. It rolled off the counter, crashing against the floor. Glass slid across the tile as the sticky drink splashed all over the woman's shoes. She screamed, looking down at her feet in horror.

"You idiot!" she screeched. "You ruined my shoes!"

"I'm sorry! Let me grab a rag!"

Today was just not his day.

**o-o-o**

Ponyboy wasn't having much more luck either. Well, he had far less luck. Like Soda, he also had Darry on his mind. He spun his pencil around on his thumb, eyes blankly staring at his test. It was too hard to concentrate on it with all the stuff that was going on in his mind. Whatever he crammed into his brain the previous nights were all muddied over as he stared at foreign-like questions. He racked his brain for the answers until his head started to hurt, but every thought led to Darry.

He had never seen him so frustrated before and he should know what that looked like since he was the cause of many of those moments.

"You have five minutes to complete the test," his teacher called out, dropping thousands upon thousands of pounds of anxiety onto his shoulders.

He scanned through the test packet, which was mostly blank. He flipped through the few pages with worry. He couldn't complete the packet on time. The only way that was going to finish it was if he circled random answers. He just had to do it at that point. He would rather have the possibility of getting the answers wrong instead of turning in a blank test packet. Ponyboy gripped his pencil hard as he quickly started to circle random answers, praying to whatever god was up there that he had most of them correct.

"Testing time is over. Put down your pencil," his teacher announced right when he finished circling the last one. Ponyboy sighed, sweat trickling down his temple. "Pass your test to someone nearby and take out a pen. We will be grading them."

Reluctantly, he passed his test to the person next to him. Here goes nothing. He sort of felt sorry for the person grading his test. It was probably so bad.

Ponyboy's test, when he received it back, was as bad as he thought it was going to be. He was almost afraid to turn the test paper back over. When he did, though, he swallowed thickly. There, written and circled in red ink was '23%'. If there was a lower grade than an 'F', he definitely got it. Darry was going to kill him. He wanted to throw the test paper away and pretend that it never existed, but Darry knew that he took the test that day. He was going to ask him about it.

He got home late that night since he had track practice after school. He opened the door to see the whole gang already there. Darry was there, looking as stressed as ever. He was filtering through the bills again. Darry muttered to himself angrily, pulling more hair out of his head. At this rate, he was definitely going to go bald before his next birthday.

"Pony, you're back!" Two-Bit chirped and Johnny smiled at him.

"Great, the kid's here…" he could hear Steve mumble.

"Hey," Ponyboy greeted and tried to walk to his room before Darry could ask him the big question. Maybe he forgot about it and he could just play it off if he acted normal. But, as he passed by Darry, he was, of course, stopped.

"Hold it," Darry said, and Pony froze in his spot. His shoulders hunched together momentarily as he pressed his lips tightly together, closing his eyes. Dang it. He was so close. "I want to hear good news for once. How'd the test go?"

Good news? Well, he was going to burst that bubble.

"Oh. It went," Ponyboy replied. It wasn't a sufficient answer, unfortunately.

"What grade did you get?"

He pulled a smile on his face, although it was threatening to fall. "Guess."

"An 'A', I hope."

The corners of his lips started to feel heavy. "Want to guess again?"

"An 'A+'?"

"You're getting colder."

Darry frowned. "A 'B'?"

"Warmer."

All of a sudden, Darry stood up, slamming his palms against the table. "Ponyboy Michael Curtis!" His scream ripped through the house and Ponyboy flinched. Here it comes.

"You got a 'C'?!"

Yeah, he was defiantly going to die tonight. "Not exactly…"

Darry looked at him incredulously. "What?! Lower?! What did you get?! An 'F'?!" He had been joking, but from the look that was on Ponyboy's face, he knew that what he had said was true. He felt the last straw snap then and there. "How could you get that grade?! I thought you studied for it!"

"I have been! I just had a lot on my mind!" Ponyboy argued.

"What could be more important than thinking about the test?"

"You!" Ponyboy screamed, causing Darry to recoil. "I was thinking about you, okay?"

"Me?"

"Yes, _you_! I couldn't focus because I was worried about you."

For a moment, Ponyboy thought that Darry was going to back off, but as soon as his anger dissipated, it returned. His eyes turned icy again as he stormed up to Pony, standing a foot away from him.

"You need to get good grades no matter what!" he bellowed.

Seriously? Did he not hear what he had just said? "But I—"

"No! You have to do well for me. You don't understand how miserable I've been; how rough I have been getting it! You not getting good grades just adds to my stress! Why can't you stop putting pressure on me for once! You're just a needle in my side." He shook his head. "No, you're a nail being hammered into my head. I can't stand that you're so lazy and just making up excuses! Can't you ever make me proud of you? Your grades were the only thing going for you."

Ponyboy felt tears well up, but he refused to let them spill. He looked down at his feet, not able to look at Darry in the eye anymore. He wanted to argue back, but he was apparently a 'nail being hammered into his head'. Johnny placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he didn't really notice it.

"Jeez, Darry, calm down," Steve interrupted, looking perplexed.

Darry spun towards him, face red with rage. "Calm down? You want me to calm down?"

"Yes. You're going way too far. It's just one bad grade," Two-Bit joined in, stepping between Pony and Darry, forcing them to step away from each other.

"One bad grade will lead to many more."

"No, it doesn't," Johnny argued, stepping up as well and surprising everybody. "Also, that doesn't give you any right to treat Ponyboy like that after he's been worried for you."

"This doesn't involve you!" Darry screamed, causing Johnny to flinch and quiver a bit.

"It does if you're hurting Ponyboy! What you said was messed up! You can't say that to him!"

"He's my kid brother. I can say what I want to him."

"No, you can't! How would you feel if someone said those words to you? You need to think about what you say before saying it. Out of everyone here, you should be the person that knows that the most."

Darry faltered. He growled pushing Two-Bit out of the way. "Oh, what do you know?!"

"Hey!" Dally exclaimed, storming up to Darry. "If you keep acting like this, I'm going to punch your lights out. Can't you see that the kid was worried about you?"

"We've all been worried about you," Soda added. "Darry, what's been going on with you? What happened for you to act this way?"

Darry pushed away from Dally, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Like what? I'm not acting any differently than usual."

"All of us think that you are acting differently," Steve said. "If all of us are agreeing, don't you think that you're wrong? Can't you calm down and tell us what happened?"

The eldest brother growled in frustration. He tugged at his hair harshly. "How could I just calm down? After what is happening to me right now?"

The gang all exchanged looks. They were finally getting answers. "What's happening?" Ponyboy asked, discreetly clearing away the tear barrier that was covering his eyes.

Darry sighed, taking a long, deep breath. He calmed down as best as he could. They were right. He was going too far. He had to collect himself. "I'm in big trouble with my boss," he explained. "I accidentally broke the window of a customer's car and they demanded me to pay for it. My boss is making me buy an entirely new car or I would get fired. I get it. The business to him is his whole life and I'm part of their image. I just don't have enough money to buy a fancy car as well as support all of you."

"That explains you freaking out about cake," Two-Bit muttered.

"Darry, why didn't you tell us earlier?" Soda asked.

"It was something that I had to deal with. It was my problem," Darry answered.

"Yeah, but what are friends and family for if problems can't be carried together? It's like a bed of nails. You won't be hurt if the weight is distributed. But, by yourself, the nail will pierce through and cause pain," Ponyboy spoke.

"That was very poetic," Two-bit joked. Ponyboy only shrugged.

"How could any of you help?" Darry questioned.

Steve stepped forward, lazily raising one of his hands. "I'm good with cars," Steve reminded him.

"And I can get a Soc car. No charge," Dally added. They all knew that he meant that he was going to steal one.

"You don't have to worry one bit," Soda chirped, smiling. Darry felt the weight be lifted from his shoulders, distributing itself on every member of the gang. He gently smiled, eyes growing softer. He breathed out in relief.

"Thanks, everyone," he breathed.

"Don't mention it. It's what we're here for," Steve said.

"You mean it's not being a pain?"

"That too. It's a two for one sale," Two-Bit laughed.

"Can I return it?"

"Sorry. No refunds."

Darry then turned to his youngest brother who unintentionally gulped in nervousness. "Ponyboy, I'm sorry for snapping at you," he apologized, frowning. His eyes were filled with regret. "I had no right to say that to you. I feel terrible about it."

Ponyboy shook his head. It still hurt because the words were ingrained in his memory, but he knew that he wasn't going to hear them again from him. Darry truly regretted his words and he could see that. "It's alright," Ponyboy spoke. "I'm glad that you're back to your old self."

His eldest brother grinned. "Speaking of my old self. You better not fail a test again."

"I won't… Probably…"

"Ponyboy Curtis!"

Pony giggled. "I'm just kidding! Mostly."

"Ponyboy!"

**o-o-o**

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